Ultrasonic image analysis systems and analysis methods thereof

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure provides an ultrasonic image analysis system which includes an image collection unit which receives and transmits an ultrasonic waveform and obtains two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data; an image analysis unit which registers the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a registration mapping relationship between the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data; a user interface unit which responds to a treatment done on the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data by a user through an external hardware device; an image display unit which displays the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data according to the registration mapping relationship and a result of the treatment of the user interface unit; and an image store unit for storing the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the registration mapping relationship.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to ultrasonic image analysis, and moreparticularly to a medical ultrasonic image analysis system and method.

BACKGROUND

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) affiliated withThe United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in2008, about 12.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer andapproximately 7.6 million people died from cancer. In 2030, about 21.4million people will be diagnosed with cancer and approximately 13.2million people will die from cancer. Ultrasound interventional therapyis one the fastest growing therapies that have a clear effect on livercancer, lung cancer and thyroid cancer. In China, liver cancer is one ofthe most common malignancies. Three hundred thousand people die fromliver cancer each year. Among the many therapies for liver cancer,surgical removal is one of the most common. However, 80% of liver cancerpatients may not be suitable for surgical removal due to poor liverfunction and clotting mechanism caused by liver cirrhosis, due to thelocation of the tumor, and/or poor heart and kidney function. For theremaining 20% of liver cancer patients, the recurrence rate of livercancer may be up to 70% even if surgical removed. However, liver cancercells usually may be not sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy.Therefore, various non-surgical interventional treatments are used forliver cancer.

During tumor ablation treatment guided by ultrasound, ultrasoundcontrast imaging may be used to evaluate the effect of theinterventional therapy. At present, a main evaluation method is tomeasure the long diameter of the tumor in two-dimensional ultrasoundcontrast images obtained before and after the interventional therapy.However, this method cannot ensure consistency of slices and positionsbetween two measurements. Especially when ablation using multipleneedles for large tumor is performed, a simple long diameter measurementcannot stand for a whole ablation area. Currently, three-dimensionalultrasound contrast enhancement techniques may be used to display theindividual status of each target region separately or combine with 4Dimaging to display dynamic blood perfusion modality of the targetregion. Other methods of evaluating the interventional effect may bebased on tomography by a CT/MRI device. However, these methods cannotprovide for real-time evaluation of a clinical operation treatment andalso may lack a three-dimensional volumetric dosing comparison functionfor the tumor before and after tumor interventional therapy.Furthermore, usually three-dimensional contrast images of some phase maybe observed individually in a clinic, but the precision rate is low.

SUMMARY

This disclosure provides ultrasonic image analysis systems and methodsthereof that may evaluate the therapeutic effect on a patient directlyand explicitly.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ultrasonic imageanalysis system. The system may comprise:

an image collection unit for transmitting an ultrasonic wave andreceiving an ultrasonic echo, obtaining a first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data based on the ultrasonic echo, transmitting anultrasonic wave and receiving an ultrasonic echo after obtaining thefirst set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, and obtaining asecond set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data based on theultrasonic echo; and

an image analysis unit for analyzing and registering the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a registration mappingrelationship between the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data; and

an image display unit for displaying the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data based on the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic image analysis system also comprisesan image storage unit for storing the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data, the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and/or the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datacollected by the image collection unit may be three-dimensionalultrasonic tissue image data and/or three-dimensional contrast enhancedultrasonic image data.

In some embodiments, the image analysis unit may comprise an automaticanalysis sub-unit for automatically analyzing and registering the secondset of three-dimensional image data and the first set ofthree-dimensional image data to obtain the registration mappingrelationship.

In some embodiments, the image analysis unit may comprise asemi-automatic analysis sub-unit for semi-automatically analyzing andregistering the second set of three-dimensional image data and the firstset of three-dimensional image data in connection with a user interfaceunit and the image display unit to obtain the registration mappingrelationship.

In some embodiments, the image display unit may also comprise:

an image reconstruction sub-unit for receiving a selection signal forselecting a target region, using one of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to reconstruct a first image ofthe target region, and using the other of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to reconstruct a second image ofthe target region corresponding to the first image based on the mappingregistration relationship; and

the image display unit may display the first image on a first region ofa display, and may display the second image on a second region of thedisplay.

In some embodiments, the first image or the second image may be athree-dimensional image of the target region and/or at least one sectionimage of the target region

Embodiments of the present invention may include an ultrasonic imageanalysis method. The method may comprise:

collecting a first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data;

collecting a second set of three-dimensional image data after collectingthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data;

analyzing and registering the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datato obtain a registration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional image data; and

displaying the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data based on theregistration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic image analysis method may furthercomprise: storing the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata, the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and/orthe registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and the second set of three-dimensional image data may bethree-dimensional ultrasound tissue image data and/or three-dimensionalcontrast enhanced ultrasonic image data.

In some embodiments, analyzing and registering the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may comprise automaticallyanalyzing and registering the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datato obtain the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, analyzing and registering the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may comprise semi-automaticallyanalyzing and registering the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datato obtain the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, displaying the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data may comprise:

receiving a selection signal for selecting a target region;

using one of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image dataand the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data toreconstruct a first image of the target region;

displaying the first image on a first region of a display;

using the other of the first set of three-dimensional image data and thesecond set of three-dimensional image data to reconstruct a second imageof the target region corresponding to the first image based on theregistration mapping relationship; and

displaying the second image on a second region of the display.

In some embodiments, the first image and the second image may be athree-dimensional image of the target region and/or at least one sectionimage of the target region.

Embodiment of the present disclosure may also include an ultrasonicimage analysis method. The method may comprise:

collecting a first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data;

displaying the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andcollecting a second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data underthe guidance of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata;

analyzing and registering the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datato obtain a registration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data; and

displaying the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data based on theregistration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, displaying the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and collecting the second set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data under the guidance of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may comprise:

displaying at least one section image of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data; and

transmitting a ultrasound wave and receiving a ultrasound echo throughan ultrasonic probe to obtain a section image, changing a location ofthe ultrasonic probe, and when the obtained section image may be similarto the at least one section image, collecting the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data.

In some embodiments, displaying the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data based on the registration mapping relationship may comprise:

receiving a selection signal for selecting a target region;

using one of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image dataand the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data toreconstruct a first image of the target region;

displaying the first image on a first region of a display;

using the other of the first set of three-dimensional image data and thesecond set of three-dimensional image data to reconstruct a second imageof the target region corresponding to the first image based on theregistration mapping relationship; and

displaying the second image on a second region of the display.

In some embodiments, the first image or the second image may be athree-dimensional image and/or at least one section image of the targetregion.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include an ultrasonic imageanalysis system and an analysis method thereof. At least twice imaging atarget region may be carried out by using three-dimensional ultrasoundcontrast imaging technology. Two sets of data of the target region maybe collected at different times. A one-to-one mapping relationship ofthe two sets of data may be made based on image registration technology.The status of the target regions in different times may be displayedbased on registration results. Meanwhile, based on mapping relationshipsbetween the two sets of data built by registration, operations such asmeasuring, tracing, dividing, etc performed on one set of data may bemapped to corresponding position of the other set of data to bedisplayed, thus the two set of data may be compared intuitively and thetherapeutic effect can be evaluated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of an ultrasonic image analysis systemaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary user interface displayed by an image display unitof an embodiment of an ultrasonic image analysis system according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a first flow diagram of an ultrasonic image analysis methodaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a second brief flow diagram of an ultrasonic image analysismethod according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a third flow diagram of an ultrasonic image analysis methodaccording to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Technical solutions will be described more clearly and completely belowin connection with the embodiments of the present disclosure. It shouldbe noted that similar or identical components may be identified withsame reference numbers in the appended drawings and specification.

In clinical therapies, ultrasound may be used for interventionaltreatments and observations. Thermal ablation is one of the most widelycarried out tumor interventional therapy technologies. However, there isno effective method for evaluating the effect of the ablation therapy inreal time.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ultrasonic imageanalysis system method. The target region may be imaged at least twiceby using three-dimensional ultrasound contrast imaging technology toobtain two sets of data of the target region at different times. Aone-to-one mapping relationship of the two sets of data may be builtbased on the image registration technology and status of the targetregion at different times may be displayed based on registrationresults. Meanwhile, based on the mapping relationships between the twosets of data built by registration, operations such as measuring,tracing, dividing, etc., performed on one set of data may be mapped to acorresponding position of the other set of data to be displayed. Thusthe two set of data may be compared intuitively and the therapeuticeffect can be evaluated.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the ultrasonic imageanalysis system may include an image collection unit 101. The imagecollection unit 101 may transmit ultrasonic waves and receive ultrasonicechoes through an ultrasonic probe and process the ultrasonic echoes toobtain three-dimensional ultrasonic image data. In some embodiments, thethree-dimensional ultrasonic image data collected by the imagecollection unit 101 may be three-dimensional ultrasonic tissue imagedata and/or three-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic image data.

During the collection of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, atleast two set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data (i.e. the firstset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data) of scanned object may becollected by the image collection module or unit 101, which may beimplemented, as with the other described modules or units, usinghardware, software, or a combination thereof.

In the process of collection, various collection angles and collectionscope may used to obtain the richest data information for the followingregistering operation. A time interval between the two sets ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be established, andoperations such as other scans or tumor ablation operations can beperformed in the time interval. During the two collections, thepositions of the patient can be kept consistent, and the directions andpositions of the ultrasonic probe can be kept consistent.

The specific contrast imaging and three-dimensional ultrasonic contrastimaging processes may use known technologies in the art, which will notbe described in detail here.

The ultrasonic image analysis system may further include an imageanalysis unit 102. The image analysis unit 102 may analyze and registerthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a registrationmapping relationship between the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data. The analysis and registering may be based on thethree-dimensional ultrasonic tissue image data, the three-dimensionalcontrast enhanced ultrasonic image data, or based on a combinationthereof.

In some embodiments, the image analysis unit 102 may comprise anautomatic analysis sub-unit. The automatic analysis sub-unit mayautomatically analyze and register the second set of three-dimensionalimage data and the first set of three-dimensional image data to obtainthe registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the image analysis unit 102 may comprise asemi-automatic analysis sub-unit, which may semi-automatically analyzeand register the second set of three-dimensional image data and thefirst set of three-dimensional image data in connection with a userinterface unit and the image display unit to obtain the registrationmapping relationship.

The ultrasonic image analysis system may further include a userinterface unit 105. The user interface unit 105 may respond to inputsinput by the user through external hardware devices to the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data.

The ultrasonic image analysis system may further include an imagedisplay unit 103. The image display unit 103 may display the first setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the disposal result of theuser interface unit 105 based on the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic image analysis system may furtherinclude an image storage unit 104. The image storage unit 104 may storethe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and/or the registrationmapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the image display unit 103 may include an imagereconstruction sub-unit. The image reconstruction sub-unit may receive aselection signal for selecting a target region, use one of the first setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to reconstruct a first image ofthe target region, and use the other of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to reconstruct a second image ofthe target region corresponding to the first image based on the mappingregistration relationship.

The image display unit 103 may display the first image on a first regionof a display, and display the second image on a second region of thedisplay.

In some embodiments, the image display unit 103 may further include animage measuring sub-unit. The measuring sub-unit may measure and editthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the registration mappingrelationship generated by the image analysis unit 102.

Automatic registration methods mainly include two categories: methodsbased on similarity measurement between images and methods based onmapping between images. For methods based on different mapping methods,they may be classified into rigid transformation (rotation andtranslation, i.e. rigid registration) methods, radioactivetransformation (scaling, rotation and translation, i.e. radioactiveregistration) methods and nonlinear transformation (building differentmapping for different parts of images, i.e. nonlinear registration)methods. In connection with ultrasonic three-dimensional contrastimaging, two embodiments involving rigid registration and radioactiveregistration may be provided. However, the embodiments may be notlimited to a specific registration method. If two sets of contrast datamay be collected in the same depth, i.e. the collected pixels may be inthe same scale, registration method may be limited to rigidregistration, such as rotation and translation. If depths of twocollections may be different, i.e. the collected image pixels may be notin the same scale, two sets of data may be scaled into the same scale byusing bilinear interpolation, and then be registered according to rigidregistration.

Assuming an intensity of a pixel X_(i) in one set of three-dimensionalultrasonic contrast data as f(X_(i)) and an intensity of a pixel Y_(i)in the other set of three-dimensional ultrasonic contrast data asg(Y_(i)), a mapping between the two sets of three-dimensional contrastimage data may be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{X_{i} = {AY}_{i}},{X_{i} = \begin{bmatrix}x_{1}^{i} \\x_{2}^{i} \\x_{3}^{i} \\1\end{bmatrix}},{Y_{i} = \begin{bmatrix}y_{1}^{i} \\y_{2}^{i} \\y_{3}^{i} \\1\end{bmatrix}},{A = \begin{bmatrix}{a_{11},a_{12},a_{13},T_{1}} \\{a_{12},a_{22},a_{23},T_{2}} \\{a_{31},a_{32},a_{33},T_{3}} \\{0,\mspace{14mu} 0,\mspace{14mu} 0,\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{bmatrix}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

Meanwhile, a similarity measurement function of the two sets of imagedata may be defined as:

$E = {\sum\limits_{i = {1\ldots\; N}}{{{f\left( X_{i} \right)} - {g\left( {A\; X_{i}} \right)}}}}$

The similarity measurement described above may be a typical “minimum sumof absolute difference.” An analogous definition may be “minimum sum ofsquare difference,” “maximum cross correlation,” and minimum absolutedifference improved based on Rayleigh distributional characteristics ofnoise of an ultrasonic wave. Meanwhile, the f(X_(i)) and g(Y_(i)) in thesimilarity measurement function may also be defined as size of localgradient or gray entropy of corresponding data, etc.

When performing image registration, instead of the automaticregistration method described above, a semi-automatic registrationmethod, i.e. an interactive registration method associated with the userinterface unit 105 and the image display unit 103, may be used. Under anassumption of rigid registration, a matrix of 3×3 in an upper-liftcorner of a mapping matrix A may be a symmetric orthogonal matrix. Theremay be many rigid registration methods for solving the rigidregistration between two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata, and the most direct method may be using interactive operation,i.e. selecting 4 sets or more than 4 sets of pairs of correspondingpoints in the two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic data and solvingthe most optimum mapping matrix A by using least square fit method. Itmay be also possible to select one section in each of the two sets ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data, build a one-to-one relationshipbetween the two sections by using fusion display method, and select apair of corresponding points which may be outside of the two sections.In some embodiments, a combination of the interactive registrationmethod and the automatic registration method may be used to perform theimage registration.

After the registration operation, the registration result may bedisplayed based on the image display unit 103. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the screen region of the image display unit 103 may at least include twosub-screens to comparatively display the two sets of data. The displayedregistration results may be the three-dimensional ultrasound tissueimage data, the three-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasound imagedata or a combination thereof.

The image display unit 103 may include image multiplanar reconstructionfunctions, which, in connection with the user interface unit 105, mayselect a target region in the images and perform multiplanarreconstruction for the target region. The sections reconstructed may bethe three-dimensional ultrasonic tissue image, and may also bethree-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic image. The reconstructedtwo sets of images may be displayed respectively on the sub-screens. Forexample, the images reconstructed from the first set ofthree-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic image data may bedisplayed on one of the sub-screens, and the images reconstructed fromthe second set of three-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic imagedata, which correspond to the images reconstructed from the first set ofthree-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic image data, may bedisplayed on the other of the sub-screens. Image pixels displayed on thetwo sub-screens may have a one-to-one correspondence. The imagesdisplayed on the two sub-screens may be three-dimensional contrastenhanced ultrasonic image data, and may also be three-dimensionalultrasonic tissue image data, and also may be switched between these twokinds of data.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional image data displayed by the image display unit103 may include, but not limit to, a part, one section, or multiplesections of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, andprojections of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image dataor the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data in acertain direction.

In some embodiments, measurement function may also be supported by thetwo sub-screens, such as distance measurement, area measurement,crispening or tracing etc. Linkage display may be also supported by thetwo displaying sub-screen, i.e. a measuring operation being performed onone sub-screen may be simultaneously displayed on the other sub-screenat the same position. The linkage display may also be disabled and themeasuring operation may be performed on one sub-screen separately. Insome embodiments, one section may be displayed on the sub-screendescribed above. In some embodiments, multiple sections may be displayedon the sub-screen, i.e., images arrayed in the same sequence may bedisplayed on the two sub-screens. The user may select different section(for example, reconstructed) on the screen of the image displaying unit103 to be displayed and measured.

In some embodiments, several ultrasonic image analysis methods may beprovided, which will be described in details below.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, an ultrasonic image analysis method mayproceed as follows.

A first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be collected in theimage collection unit 101. Specific collecting methods may be similar toa process of collecting three-dimensional ultrasonic image datadescribed above, which will not describe in detail.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be registered toobtain a relationship between the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data. Specific registration methods of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data may include automatic registering methods orsemi-automatic registering methods, and also may be a combination of thetwo methods to analyze and register the two sets of three dimensionalultrasonic image data.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be displayed in theimage display module 103 based on the registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data maybe displayed based on the registration mapping relationship, which mayinclude steps described below.

First, selected signals of a selected target region are received. Theselected signals may be input by user though a user interface unit 105,and also may be a system default. A target region of interest to a usermay be confirmed through the selected signals. The target region may bea part of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data orthe second set of three-dimensional image data. In other words, thetarget region may be selected from the first set of three-dimensionalimage data or the second set of three-dimensional image data.

One of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and thesecond set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be used toreconstruct a first image of the target region to display the firstimage on the first region of a display.

The other set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data from the firstset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be used to reconstruct asecond image in a target region corresponding to the first image basedon the registration mapping relationship. It will be understood thatthat because the registration mapping relationship between two sets ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data have been obtained already, aregion corresponding to the target region from the otherthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be obtained and an image ofthe corresponding region using the other three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data may be reconstructed, i.e. the second image of the targetregion corresponding to the first image as mentioned, and the secondimage may be displayed on the second region of a display.

In some embodiments, the first image and the second image may be athree-dimensional image and/or at least a section image of the targetregion.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, an ultrasonic image analysis method mayproceed as described below.

A first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be collected.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and collectingthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may bedisplayed under a guidance of the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be registered toobtain a registration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data.

The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be displayed based onthe registration mapping relationship.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be displayed and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be collected under aguidance of the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, asdescribed below.

At least one section image of the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data may be displayed. An ultrasound wave may betransmitted and an ultrasound echo received through an ultrasonic probeto obtain section images. A location of the ultrasonic probe may bechanged. When section image obtained may be similar to the at least onesection image, the method may proceed by beginning to collect the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data.

For example, when the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata may be collected, target regions to be evaluated may be involved.The first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data collected maybe sent to the image display unit 103 and may be displayed in somedisplaying sub-unit in a region of the display of the image display unit103. Then the second set of three-dimensional image data may becollected. For example, some section of the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data (i.e. a section in some certaindirection may include, but not limited to, an axial section in themiddle of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image data) may be displayedin a display sub-screen. The same section may be found by moving anultrasonic probe before collecting three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata the second time, and the second set of the three-dimensionalultrasonic image data may be collected. Positions of the ultrasonicprobes and directions of the ultrasonic probes of two data collectionsmay be assured to be consistent, so to ensure that the collecting datarepresent the same part of a body. Two sets of three-dimensional datamay be registered by using image analysis registration method of theimage analysis unit 102. Specifically, registration may be automaticallyperformed based on an image processing algorithm, and also may besemi-automatically performed in connection with manual interactiveoperation (i.e. interactive registration).

In some embodiments, a method of displaying the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data based on the registrationmapping relationship may be the same as the second method mentionedabove.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, an ultrasonic image analysis method mayinclude followings steps.

Two sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be collected bythe image collection unit 101 as described above. Specific collectionmethods may be similar to those described above, which will not bedescribed in detail.

The two sets of three-dimensional image data collected may be registeredand the registration mapping relationship may be confirmed between thetwo sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data. Specificregistration methods of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may usean automatic registration mapping method or a semi-automaticregistration mapping method as described above, and also may be acombination of the two methods thereof to register the two sets ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data, which will not be described indetail.

A target region among a set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datathereof may be selected, a section of the target region may bereconstructed according to a selected direction, and displaying thedirection of the set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data. Basedon the registration mapping relationship of the two sets of image, asection corresponding to the section reconstructed before may bereconstructed among the other set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and may be displayed.

The image may be used to reconstruct a sub-unit, the image datacollected may be reconstructed in two collections in the target region,the target region in three-dimensional image data may be selected andmultiplanar of the target may be reconstructed. The image datareconstructed may have a one-to-one correspondence. A reconstructedsection may be three-dimensional ultrasonic tissue image data orthree-dimensional ultrasonic contrast image data. For example, imagesreconstructed from the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata may be displayed in one of the displaying sub-screens. Imagesreconstructed from the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata corresponding to the former images may be displayed in the othersub-screen. Image pixels displayed in the two sub-screens may have aone-to-one correspondence.

The three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be stored and theregistration result. The three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and theregistration result may be stored in the image storage module 104.

In some embodiments, as any ultrasonic image analysis method describedabove, the three-dimensional ultrasonic image data may bethree-dimensional ultrasonic tissue image data or three-dimensionalcontrast image data, and also may be a combination of the same.

In some embodiments, as any ultrasonic image analysis methods describedabove, the image registration may include the following: thethree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be registered automaticallyand registration results may be generated. Specific automatic analysisand registration methods may be consistent with the automaticregistration methods described above, which will not be described indetail.

In some embodiments, as any ultrasonic image analysis method describedabove, the images registration includes the following: thethree-dimensional ultrasonic image data may be registeredsemi-automatically and registration results may be generated. Specificautomatic registration methods may be consistent with the semi-automaticregistration methods described above, which will not be described indetail.

In some embodiments, as any ultrasonic image analysis method describedabove, the multiplanar reconstructions of the three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and registration results may be performed.Specific function of multiplanar reconstructions may be consistent withthe multiplanar reconstructions described above, which will not bedescribed in detail.

In some embodiments, as any ultrasonic image analysis methods describedabove, the three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the registrationresults may be measured and edit. Specific effects of measurement andedit may be consistent with the measurement and edit described above,which will not be described in detail.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, clinical tumor interventionaltherapies may be imaged for pre-operation and post-operation at leasttwice by using three-dimensional ultrasound contrast imaging devices.Two sets of data of a target region may be obtained in different time.The two set of data may be registered by using image processingtechniques. A one-to-one mapping relationship between the two sets ofdata may be built by using image processing techniques to register thetwo sets of data. The status of target regions at different times basedon the registration results may be displayed based on a registrationresult comparison. Meanwhile, the corresponding locations of the otherset of data may be mapped to display based on the mapping relationshipbetween two sets of data constructed by registration, thus the two setof data may be compared directly. Whether an ablation effect regioncovers a whole tumor region may be evaluated by calculating, tracing,dividing, etc. Thus, the two set of data may be compared directly. Theablation effect may be evaluated on site. If ablation may not cover thewhole tumor region, complementary needle ablation may be done on site.Delayed time of clinical evaluation and secondary interventionaloperation may be avoided based on CT/MRI etc.

The embodiments described above may be merely used to illustrate thetechnical solutions of the present disclosure, but should not be deemedas limitations to the scope of this disclosure. It should be noted that,for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from theinventive concept of this disclosure, a number of variations andmodifications may be made, while such variations or modifications shouldbe deemed to be included within the scope of this disclosure.Accordingly, the scope of protection of this disclosure should bedefined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An ultrasonic image analysis system,comprising: an image collection unit comprising an ultrasonic probe anda processor, wherein the image collection unit: transmits ultrasonicwaves to a target region and obtains a first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data corresponding to the target region beforeablation; displays a pre-ablation section image from the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data; transmits ultrasonic waves tothe target region and obtains real time post-ablation section images ofthe target region as a user changes a location of the ultrasonic probe;and when one of the post-ablation section images is determined to besimilar to the pre-ablation section image, transmits ultrasonic waves tothe target region at the location of the ultrasonic probe and obtains asecond set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data corresponding tothe target region after ablation; an image analysis unit comprising theprocessor which registers the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datato obtain a one-to-one registration mapping relationship between thefirst set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, wherein the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship is obtained from only either or bothof the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and thesecond set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the imageanalysis unit being coupled to the image collection unit; and an imagedisplay unit, which comparatively displays a first image generated fromthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data in a firstdisplay area and a second image generated from the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data based on the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship in a second display area next to thefirst display area, the image display unit being coupled to the imageanalysis unit; wherein the first and second display areas are linked,such that a measuring operation performed on the first image issimultaneously displayed at a same position on the second image, andmeasuring operation performed on the second image is simultaneouslydisplayed at a same position on the first image, in order to evaluate atherapeutic effect of the ablation, wherein the measuring operationcomprises at least one of a distance measuring operation, an areameasurement operation, or a tracing of the target region.
 2. Theultrasonic image analysis system of claim 1, further comprising: animage storage device comprising a memory component which stores thefirst set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and/or the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship, the image storage device coupled tothe image collection unit and the image analysis unit.
 3. The ultrasonicimage analysis system of claim 1, wherein the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data obtained by the image collectionunit are at least one of three-dimensional ultrasonic tissue image dataand three-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasonic image data.
 4. Theultrasonic image analysis system of claim 1, wherein the image analysisunit comprises an automatic analysis sub-unit comprising the processorwhich automatically registers the second set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data to obtain the one-to-one registration mapping relationship.5. The ultrasonic image analysis system of claim 4, wherein theprocessor automatically registers the second set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data based on similarity between the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data.
 6. The ultrasonic imageanalysis system of claim 4, wherein the processor automaticallyregisters the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data based onmapping between the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata and the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data. 7.The ultrasonic image analysis system of claim 1, wherein the imageanalysis unit comprises a semi-automatic analysis sub-unit comprisingthe processor which semi-automatically registers the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data in connection with a userinterface device and the image display unit to obtain the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship.
 8. The ultrasonic image analysissystem of claim 1, wherein the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data is pre-operation image data, the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data is post-operation image data. 9.An ultrasonic image analysis method for evaluating an ablative therapy,comprising: prior to ablation of a tumor, transmitting ultrasonic wavesusing an ultrasonic probe to a target region containing a tumor andcollecting a first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datacorresponding to the target region; and subsequent to ablation of thetumor; displaying a pre-ablation section image from the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data; transmitting ultrasonic wavesto the target region to obtain one or more post-ablation section imagesof the target region as a user changes a location of the ultrasonicprobe; when one of the one or more post-ablation section images isdetermined to be similar to the pre-ablation section image according toa similarity measurement function, transmitting ultrasonic waves to thetarget region at the location of the ultrasonic probe to obtain a secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data corresponding to thetarget region after ablation; registering the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data, wherein the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship is obtained from only either or bothof the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and thesecond set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data; and comparativelydisplaying a pre-ablation image generated from the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data in a first display area and apost-ablation image generated from the second set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data based on the one-to-one registration mappingrelationship in a second display area next to the first display area,and wherein the pre-ablation image and post-ablation image are displayedsimultaneously; wherein the first and second display areas are linked,such that a measuring operation performed on the tumor in thepre-ablation image is simultaneously displayed at a same position on thetumor in the post-ablation image, and measuring operation performed onthe tumor in the post-ablation image is simultaneously displayed at asame position on the tumor in the pre-ablation image, in order toevaluate a therapeutic effect of the ablation, wherein the measuringoperation comprises at least one of a distance measuring operation, anarea measurement operation, or a tracing of the tumor.
 10. Theultrasonic image analysis method of claim 9, further comprising: storingthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data or the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship.
 11. The ultrasonic image analysismethod of claim 9, wherein the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image dataare at least one of three-dimensional ultrasound tissue image data andthree-dimensional contrast enhanced ultrasound image data.
 12. Theultrasonic image analysis method of claim 9, wherein registering thefirst set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data comprises automaticallyregistering the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain theone-to-one registration mapping relationship.
 13. The ultrasonic imageanalysis method of claim 9, wherein registering the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data comprises semi-automaticallyregistering the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data andthe second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain theone-to-one registration mapping relationship.
 14. An ultrasonic imageanalysis method, comprising: collecting, using an ultrasound probe priorto ablation of a tumor, a first set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data corresponding to a target region containing the tumor; andafter ablation of the tumor: displaying a pre-ablation section imagefrom the first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data;collecting one or more post-ablation section images of the target regionas a user changes a location of the ultrasound probe; when one of theone or more post-ablation section images is determined to be similar tothe pre-ablation section image according to a similarity measurementfunction, collecting a second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic imagedata corresponding to the target region after ablation; registering thefirst set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second setof three-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data through rigid registration usingonly content of either or both of the first set of three-dimensionalultrasonic image data and the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data; displaying a first image generated from the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data in a first area of a displaydevice; and simultaneously and comparatively displaying a second imagegenerated from the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image databased on the one-to-one registration mapping relationship in a secondarea of the display device next to the first area; wherein the first andsecond areas are linked, such that a measuring operation performed onthe tumor the first image is simultaneously displayed at a same positionon the tumor in the second image, and measuring operation performed onthe tumor in the second image is simultaneously displayed at a sameposition on the tumor in the first image, in order to evaluate atherapeutic effect of the ablation, wherein the measuring operationcomprises at least one of a distance measuring operation, an areameasurement operation, or a tracing of the tumor.
 15. The ultrasonicimage analysis method of claim 14, wherein each of the first image andthe second image is one three-dimensional image or at least one sectionimage of the target region.
 16. An ultrasonic image analysis system forevaluating an ablative therapy, comprising: an image collection unitcomprising an ultrasonic probe and a processor, wherein, prior toablation of a tumor, the image collection unit transmits ultrasonicwaves to a target region containing the tumor and obtains a first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data corresponding to the targetregion before ablation; and after ablation of the tumor, the imagecollection unit: displays a pre-ablation section image from the firstset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data; transmits ultrasonicwaves to the target region and obtains one or more post-ablation sectionimages of the target region as a user changes a location of theultrasonic probe; and when one of the one or more post-ablation sectionimages is determined to be similar to the pre-ablation section imageaccording to a similarity measurement function, transmits ultrasonicwaves to the target region at the location of the ultrasonic probe andobtains a second set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image datacorresponding to the target region after ablation; an image analysisunit comprising the processor which registers the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data to obtain a one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship between the first set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the second set ofthree-dimensional ultrasonic image data, wherein the one-to-oneregistration mapping relationship is obtained from only at least one ofthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and the secondset of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data, such that the first andsecond sets of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data have a samescale, translation, and rotation, the image analysis unit being coupledto the image collection unit; and an image display unit comprising ascreen region which comparatively displays a first image generated fromthe first set of three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and a secondimage generated from the second set of three-dimensional ultrasonicimage data based on the one-to-one registration mapping relationship,the image display unit being coupled to the image analysis unit; whereinthe first image is displayed in a first sub-screen region of the screenregion, and the second image is simultaneously displayed in a secondsub-screen region of the screen region, the second sub-screen regionbeing next to the first sub-screen region; and wherein the first andsecond sub-screen regions are linked, such that a measuring operationperformed on the tumor the first image is simultaneously displayed in asame position on the tumor in the second image, and measuring operationperformed on the tumor in the second image is simultaneously displayedin the same position on the tumor in the first image, in order toevaluate a therapeutic effect of the ablation, wherein the measuringoperation comprises at least one of a distance measuring operation, anarea measurement operation, or a tracing of the tumor.